I really don’t know where to start here.
If I hadn’t just checked my calendar and done the math, I would have guessed I had only been home for a week. An insanely packed week. In reality it has been 20 days.
Click here to see more hilarity regarding Jesse and friends.
The first week I was concentrating on being Mrs. Thomas to support my triathlete husband as he competed in the Half Ironman World Championships. During his breakout Pro year, I’d only been able to see him race once (the Duck Bill Thrill), and otherwise stayed updated with skype calls and his hilarious, multimedia online race reports. It was great to support him, see him in his element, and finally meet all the new friends I’d heard him talk about while I was away in Europe for nine weeks. Triathlon peeps be rad.
kitchen upgrades
But once that race was over, I came home to a real awakening. The other projects I am involved in had bloated and swelled while I was away and some things were on the verge of bursting. Picky Bars (new website) sales increased 150% in one month, and Jenn, our amazing Director of Operations, looked like her head was going to pop off if we didn’t hire some help and upgrade our production methods. We decided it was time to totally revamp the entire kitchen, buy equipment, and hire three new employees. Exciting stuff!
Every night before bed, filling in this journal we created makes me very very happy.
One thousand training diaries that I had spent a year creating with my friend Ro McGettigan arrived at last from our green printer, and we needed to figure out how to get the word out about them and get systems in place for people to buy them before Ro went into labor (she just had her baby this week: a beautiful baby girl, Hope.)
My natural tendency is to fill my cup to the point of overflowing. I’ll just keep on pouring it in until I flood the whole damn kitchen. I’ve been that way since high school when I was taking five honors classes alongside cross country and working at In-N-Out Burger. I’d like to blame my parents for this but they are reasonable, laid back people who were always telling me to “chill the F out.” Since becoming a pro runner, I’ve had to learn to be extremely choosy about what to pour in my cup (I no longer waste my efforts on things that I’m not passionate about like I did in high school). I don’t like to be busy for the sake of being busy, but alas, for me to be “fulfilled,” I need to be “full” and “filled”.
Enter the NY Marathon…
Originally, I signed up to run NY Marathon back when I was 8th at USA’s with no chance of competing at Worlds in Daegu. Then when I was added to the USA roster, I decided I still wanted to give NY a go since I had my heart set on it. People kept saying things like “Oh, you’ll never want to train for that after you come down from the high at Worlds,” and “Are you effing crazy?” You know, supportive things like that.
marathon workouts be hard
The funny thing is, in the 20 days since Worlds, I haven’t regretted my decision to run NY once. My volume has climbed from 60 to 70 to 80 (with extra time on the ElliptiGo to supplement), and the new workouts I’ve been doing have been hard but super fun. The new challenge and stimulus is exactly what I imagined I’d enjoy. Motivation isn’t an issue. However, now that I’m at my peak mileage, training will start to accumulate and if I don’t get my other projects organized, I’ll be overstretched in no time (hello colds, injuries, and overtraining symptoms).
All energy comes from the same well. Some activities fill the well, while others drain it. I’ve got one more week to tackle the draining parts of my other jobs and then I’ll need to be very selective until November 6th when I finally get to race through the five boroughs of the most incredible city I’ve ever laid eyes on.
After so many weeks overseas relying on others to cover me, I’ve enjoyed getting my hands dirty and running errands. It feels exactly like the first two weeks of school where your to-do list is enormous while you set up your structures, systems, and routines. After a summer break, you welcome the load, and even flirt with the idea of taking a drawing class just for fun. And then reality sets in and you have to trim the fat off of your schedule to survive. Bye bye drawing class.
This week will be a struggle for me while I make that transition. I need to make some decisions quickly to get things in order. Libras hate making decisions.
Just for Fun (very optional reading)
I always wish I could sneak a peak at other people’s “To-Do Lists” to get a feel for their job/life. Just for fun, here are some sample items from mine over the past two weeks. Almost all of it is done now, thank goodness 🙂
- open two months of mail
- buy used Hobart Mixer from Craigslist (why the hell is it only $600?!) before the Cuisinart dies and we’re screwed.
- metal shelving for Picky Bar storage
- find marathon training partner for long runs
- Ask Lauren comments
- open pandora’s box of emails and voicemails
- test out new Hobart Mixer (yay!) and adjust recipes for new capacity
- send thank you Believe I Am training journals to the women that contributed quotes
- press release for Training Journal
- research how to make a press release (?!)
- take broken “bargain” Hobart Mixer to repair shop (holy cow it weighs 150 pounds)
- what the heck am I going to wear as racing shoes in NY?! Its a MARATHON! Contact Nike.
- take measurements to re-do Picky Bar work space
- research and buy new work tables for food production
- buy a bunch of storage containers and organization stuff
- contact “Girls on the Run” about donating a % of Believe I Am profits.
- call the fam
- Call Rinker to see if he’ll time my workouts
- Physio appointments
- Blood test for iron levels
- decide what I want to do for my 30th birthday and 4th anniversary
- organize the horror that is my desk
- take back all new storage containers and organization stuff that didn’t work
- find receipts for storage containers that were on my desk before “organizing” it.
- remove the chandelier that everyone has banged their head on while making bars for the last year
You’ve gotta love the items that fight their way back onto the list, no matter what you do! What’s the most random thing on your to-do list?
For those of you who have written in to the site, know that I appreciate you reaching out and commenting, even if I haven’t replied. In many cases, the informed readers on this site have been awesome about sharing their knowledge and experiences and helping one another out. I have directly benefited from the advice of many of you, and if I haven’t told you personally yet, thanks!
You wrote:
All energy comes from the same well. Some activities fill the well, while others drain it.
I thought that was interesting because I just saw this online article called, “Can You Learn Willpower?” and in it, talking about willpower, Roy F. Baumeister says:
I think people fail to understand how everything is linked together. You have one energy resource that is used for all kinds of acts for self-control. That includes not just resisting food temptations, but also controlling your thought processes, controlling your emotions, all forms of impulse control, and trying to perform well at your job or other tasks. Even more surprisingly, it is used for decision making, so when you make choices you are (temporarily) using up some of what you need for self-control. Hard thinking, like logical reasoning, also uses it. And this energy source is tied into the body’s basic energy supplies, including your immune system and the processes that regulate your heartbeat […]
I thought I would include a big part of the quote for context – but the part that struck me was that his first couple of sentences are similar to yours.
The whole thing can be seen at (you may need to register):
http://www.bnet.com/blog/time-management/can-you-learn-willpower/641?promo=713&tag=nl.e713
Good luck in NYC.
Yehuda
1. TIVO – its been on there since August; I have yet to figure out how to set it up as it requires wireless and for that I have to set up a router and its getting far too complicated for my level of technological prowess
2. Anything involving research eg: “go pick up ovarian follicular fluid samples” or “talk to so and so about sperm collection — how much sperm can we take/need?” <– I think people who open my planner may think this is very weird
And, damn, I thought I was busy!
I love reading your blog! Glad you are settling into marathon training post Worlds! Your to-do list is crazy – you certainly know how to keep busy. Good luck in the final hard month volume wise of NYCM training.
Glad you are running the NYC Marathon! If you didn’t before, you will have even more fans cheering you on now, including me!
I feel your stress about getting a product (or two) out there. I’ve just launched my Maternity and Post-Natal FITsplint. I’m not professional athlete, but recently had a professional triathlete name the product as one of her favorite pregnant items! I’m researching about Press Releases, sales plans, etc..
Have you thought about partnering with Girls on the Run or Another Mother Runner? They are 2 huge groups that would love your journal (Ok, just read that in your to-do list!)
I am truly inspired by all you are doing! Keep it up!
Hi Lauren,
I have loved following your blog the last couple of years and I thank you for making the time to write it. You are so open, honest, and down-to-earth (plus, you crack me up). Good luck with your marathon training. I’ll be watching and cheering you on.
Run Strong!
Rachel
BTW – Nice cover and article on Runner’s World – you look fabulous!